Winged Beast
'' ''Sometimes fear, is the appropriate response. -''1's words before The Winged Beast initial attack. '' The Winged Beast is a pterosaur-like machine created by the Fabrication Machine. It is the second creation sent to attack 9 and the others, seemingly designed to cover area (by air) rapidly and find the stitchpunks' hideout. 2009 film Description/Appearance The Winged Beast strongly resembles a pterodactyl, a flying prehistoric reptile. It has four beady red eyes encircling a "mouth" made of scalpels, knives, and other sharp metal objects. A speaker or voice box rests at the center of the blades, allowing the Beast to make loud, eagle-like screeches. Its bat-like wings are made from a flag, and sport claws in their middles, allowing the Beast to walk on all fours. It also features a short tail tipped with a detachable harpoon; a long cord connects the spear to its body. Additionally, this Beast has a fan attached to its underside and a human ribcage incorporated into its body. The height of the beast is 30 centimeters, the length of of it is 2 feet long, and both wings are 4 feet long. Behavior The Winged Beast is much more mobile than its predecessor, The Cat Beast, due to its flying capabilities. It can use its fan as a makeshift engine to propel itself through the air, or fly like an actual bird by gliding on air currents and flapping its wings. It can also use its claws to cling to surfaces or crawl along the ground in an awkward but fairly fast motion. In combat, the Winged Beast's main weapons are its head and tail. It can slash its prey with individual blades, trap them with a "bite", or stab them with a pecking motion. It can swing its entire head around to knock opponents around. Its tail, on the other hand, is outfitted with a mechanism that fires the harpoon at a target, forcefully enough to knock a Stitchpunk back a good distance and pin them down for capture. The string attached to the harpoon can then be retracted, allowing the Beast to use its ranged attack repeatedly. It would often use its' wings as a shield to protect itself from attacks. The Beast was also seen using its claws to grab or scratch at things, but it rarely uses them in combat roles. Fiction role As 1 berates 9 and 5's failure to save 2, the Winged Beast glides by outside the cathedral. It burst through the glass clock face, knocking over a brazier of live coals into 6's wall of drawings and canvas, which starts a fire inside the cathedral. As the Beast advanced on 5, 6, 8 and 9, 1 accidentally reveals himself (from ringing his staff's bell) behind a makeshift bulletin board, attracting the machine's attention. Using the moment of distraction, 8 slashes at its head, only for the Beast to swipe the large stitchpunk out of the way. This gave 1 the chance to open a secret passage out of the building; he and 8 ran through the opening while the other three went for the makeshift elevator to the ground floor. As the stitchpunks fled, the Winged Beast attempted to puncture 9 with its beak, getting stuck temporarily after two failed attacks. The ragdolls escaped, but the Beast was able to cut the bucket elevator's support cord, causing it to fall. 5, 6, and 9 managed to get out before their ride fell to the ground floor, but 9 was separated from his companions. As the young stitchpunk emerged outside and tried to find another way down, the Winged Beast burst through another window and flew after 1 and 8. The former nearly falls from a broken section of the roof, but holds on long enough to be helped up by 9. Meanwhile, 8 faces the Beast as it flies in for the kill, throwing his scissor-blade sword at the mechanical monster's engine. The blade successfully jams the fan, causing the Beast to briefly crash on the roof. As 8 jumped on its back, the Beast took to the air once again, using its actual wings to compensate for its ruined engine. Its movements shook 8 off of its back, causing him to fall and grab a broken support beam further down the cathedral's side. As the largest ragdoll struggles to hang on, the Beast arcs around and zeroes in on 8, its harpoon tail raised and ready to fire. 9 uses a loose metal shingle to reflect light into the Winged Beast eyes causing it to misfire from its harpoon. This caused the harpoon to bounce off the magnet on 8's back and stab the wall instead, allowing 8 to slide down the extended rope and drop onto the remains of the crashed plane. The Winged Beast, unaware that its tail is stuck, it keeps on flying until it taunts on its cable, sending the Beast crashing into the roof-almost crushing 1 and 9, who were tackled out of the way by 8. As 6 and 5 flee to one of the plane's damaged propellers, the Beast faces 1, 8, and 9. Retracting its harpoon, the cybernetic creature prepares to attack, only for 7 to arrive. She hopped off a ledge to attack the monster's head, only for the Beast to spot her shadow and smack her away with its wing. It quickly fired its harpoon into 7's left leg as she tried to attack again, knocking her back into the wall. Having finally caught a stitchpunk, the beast retracts its tail, only for 9 to grab 7 and stop their momentum by stabbing the latter's spear into the wing of the plane. 9 yells out for 8 to cut the cable to free 7, the recoil sends the taut cord into the plane's still-spinning propeller. The jolt causes the entire plane to tip over, forcing the stitchpunks to grab on-8 hung on to a hole, 7 held her spear, 9 holds onto the harpoon still embedded in 7's leg, and 1 grabs his staff, currently held in 9's free hand. Undeterred by the change in orientation, the Winged Beast began to climb towards its helpless prey. However, 5 and 6 manage to connect an exposed wire to the propeller's exposed circuits, re-energizing the device and winding the cord around it. Despite being dragged towards a now-rapidly whirling propellor, the Winged Beast refused to give up-with a final flap of its wings, it flew forward and snatched the edge of 1's cape with its multi-knived beak. As the propellor stalls due to the tension, 9's grip on 1's staff begins to slip-seeing that the Beast has only grabbed 1's cape, he tells 1 to take it off. Although reluctant, 1 eventually acquiesces; as the Winged Beast raises a claw, he detaches his cape and jumped onto 9, losing both his staff and cape in process. With nothing to hold onto now, the Beast gave a final screech before slamming into the spinning propellor blades, destroying both. Capture Rate Although it failed to capture any of the ragdolls, the Winged Beast's attack successfully destroyed the group's base, forcing them to risk the wasteland until they could find a new home. After the stitchpunks left the burning Cathedral, a flying blimp robot managed to retrieve the deactivated Beast's severed head, which it brought back to the Fabrication Machine. Angered by the loss of its creation, the Machine crushed the Winged Beast's head in anger. However, it had already devised a new plan to capture its targets, deploying an even more horrific and cunning Beast... Casualties Although the Winged Beast failed to capture any of the stitchpunks, it managed to do some damage: *Forced 8 to give up his scissor-blade weapon when he used it to jam its engine *Punctured 7's left leg with its harpoon *Destroyed 1's cape and staff *Burned down the cathedral, leaving the stitchpunks homeless Trivia *The human rib cage can be seen sticking out on its top main body. *Its wings, arms and head resemble almost like a pterosaur, including the way it flies. *It is Elijah Wood's favorite out of the machines. Category:Machines Category:Characters Category:Deceased Category:Villains